In the Dark REVISION
by PAT THE KITSUNE
Summary: Meh...I don't remember what our original summary was for this story, so you'll all just have to read to find out what it's about. Long story short though is that I'm bringing this story back from the dead after FF's wrongful deletion of it in 2008. ZADR
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Oh, dear Lord. Could it be?...Yes! It is! The epic return of "In the Dark" to FF once again! Only REVISED. How many of my watchers do I have that remember THIS old role play? Anyone? Anyone? For the record, it was a very popular story back when I first posted it here. You know, right up until FF decided to delete it like the sick bastards they are. God, I hated them for that. ITD used to be my most popular RP on here. But oh well.

For a long time, I was heart broken about it being removed. But now I'm ready to give posting it here a second chance. Of course, I've made some changes to it since its initial debut in 2008. Like the chapter length. Chapters used to be a whole lot longer when I first began posting this. Now I've cut them down to about half the length they were back then. But that's to ensure quick updatage, as I've said many times before on several other RPs. Point is, it's STILL the same fic, just with some revisions to help it run smoother. So yeah. I'll update the first three chapters tonight. Then from then on, I'll try to update regularly as this should be a fairly easy revision process.

As I say on all my other fics, feedback would be very much appreciated. And I honestly have no doubt in my mind that you guys will enjoy this story VERY much, given how well received it was back 3 or 4 years ago. So yeah. We hope you enjoy. And we look forward to hearing back from people again. =3 Especially if any of you actually remember the first posting of this old fic. ^^ It'd be awesome to hear back from some of our original readers on here. =3

Disclaimer- We do not own the cartoon that this fanfiction is written for, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Rating: M for later chapters

Zim: ZimPLUSDib

Dib: Me

Chapter 1: Encounter

The air was crisp, enveloping the city in that icy grip it always seemed to have during this time of the year. Everything was white save for the red and green decorations clinging to nearly every house and building in the city. The month was December which meant Christmas was approaching fast. It was a time of cheer and good will towards all mankind...Well...Most of mankind, at least. For a certain 17-year-old high-skool student, it was a time of gloom and bad memories. While the rest of the world celebrated this joyous time of the year, he spent most of his time indoors, locked in his room, just praying that the holidays would pass quickly so he could get on with his life. He hated this time of the year, especially when he had to leave his house for reasons beyond his control. Today was no exception.

Skool still hadn't let out for winter break, which meant two more weeks of abuse, mental and physical, from the other students. Dib Membrane was the most tormented soul attending that poor excuse for a skool establishment. Even his worst enemy had things better than he, himself, had it, and Zim hated everything about that place. He hated the teachers, he hated the students, but most of all, he hated Dib. And yet, here stood Dib, still the most miserable student in the city.

Zim hadn't changed much over the years. After 6 years on Earth, he was still the same self-centered and bloodthirsty maniac he had been when he first landed on Earth. Still out to destroy the planet, Dib rarely got any breaks from the green menace. If he wasn't plotting some scheme to take over the world, he was busy doing everything in his power to humiliate Dib. Much to Dib's disappointment, the Irken had managed to grow a few feet taller, which just served to boost his determination even more. However, he was nowhere near Dib's height. That was one victory Dib would hold over the Irken as long as he lived, and he loved reminding Zim that he was still taller than him. Anything he could use to piss off the Irken, he considered a victory for Earth. But at this time of the year, he could care less about the Earth.

Trudging through the snow at a slow pace, he shivered as the snowflakes continued to float down from the sky, covering everything in a soft, powdery blanket of white. Everybody he passed seemed happy and carefree. He couldn't stand it. Sighing to himself, his breath came out as a plume of white mist, clouding up his glasses once more. He was cold despite the layers and layers of clothes he was wearing underneath his trademark trench coat. Fixing his scarf to better fit around his neck and pulling his trench coat tighter around him, he huddled in on himself more to keep warm. He had to walk a little faster or else he'd be late for skool AGAIN. No doubt his sister, Gaz, would beat the shit out him if he made her late again too.

Meanwhile, back at Zim's lair, Gir was sitting on the couch in his disguise and watching some horrible Earth commercial. It was morning and Zim was down in his lab working on his latest invention, something he liked to call the "Doom Cannons." Thinking it was still night, he worked until he looked up at the clock and realized it was late in the morning.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! GIR!" Zim yelled, quickly throwing all his work away and rushing to the elevator to press the "elevator call" button.

Pushing the button several times in his panic, Zim nervously paced the floor back and forth in front of the door until the elevator began its decent into his lower lab. Unfortunately, almost immediately, it stopped about midway down, powering down completely and leaving Zim trapped in the lab.

"WHAT THE IRK? COMPUTER! FIX THE ELEVATOR!" Zim demanded from his spot in front of the door.

"Elevator repairing...Estimated repair time: Three hours." the computer announced, causing Zim to just about fall over.

"THREE HOURS?" Zim exclaimed before quickly looking around for another way out.

Noticing the chute he often times used to get rid of some of the garbage he found in Gir's head, Zim rushed to it quickly and used that as his lift back up to the base.

"GIR! I TOLD YOU TO KEEP AN EYE ON THE CLOCK SO I WOULDN'T BE LATE FOR SKOOL! THE CHILDREN! WHAT IF THEY SUSPECT SOMETHING?" Zim yelled once he had exited through the trash bin.

"Ooooooooooooooooh yeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaahhhhh...I forgot. A muffin man scared me!" Gir said as Zim hurriedly began putting on his human disguise.

Stopping at the android's words, Zim sent Gir a confused look before just running out of the base.

"Watch the base,Gir! Don't disappoint me!" Zim yelled back.

Gir merely waved after him.

Running as quickly as he could down the walkway to his house, Zim, before he could even look back in front of himself to see where he was going, collided full force into the Dib, causing the human to lose his footing and fall back against the cement.

"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING,STOOPID HUMAN!" Zim yelled, not realizing it was his own fault.

Dib sat up with a groan, his cheek stinging from how hard he had hit the icy pavement. He just knew it was going to be a bad day and this was proof. Of all the people he could have run into, it just had to be HIM. Running a hand up and down his sore and swelling cheek, he snapped back at the other when he heard those words leaving his mouth. "Why don't YOU watch where YOU'RE going, you jerk? You ran into me!" he said as he got back up off the ground onto his feet once more to brush some of the snow off of his trench coat.

Standing in silence, save for a cricket chirping in the background, Zim stared at Dib with a curious look on his face for a few moments before pointing at the boy dramatically and screaming, "YOU'RE LYING!"

Rolling his eyes at the other's words, Dib then turned to leave. He didn't have time for Zim's stoopidness. He was sure they would be late for school now thanks to Zim. "Whatever." he threw back at the disguised alien as he started picking up his walking pace a bit more to try and catch up with his sister, who had just continued on her way, determined not to let Dib make her late for skool again this week.

Feeling a little insulted at how Dib DARED to just walk away from him, Zim then cocked his head to one side confused. Wasn't the human going say anything about him being an alien or wanting to dissect him?

"Why aren't you saying anything today? Are SCARED in your PANTS, making your big head look...erm...bigger?" Zim said with a cackle and evil smirk.

Dib stopped in his tracks, shooting a glare back over his shoulder at the disguised Irken. "My head's not big! And I'm not scared of YOU! I'm just tired of having to fight with you every single day! I've got enough crap to deal with in my life without you, so why don't you just leave me alone for once?" he retorted, his bad mood growing to a point where he could hardly stand it anymore. The day had barely started and already he wanted it to be over. It was normal for him to get this way around the holidays, but very few people knew the cause of his anger around this time of the year. Only his father and sister knew the reason for his sudden bursts of anger and frustration, though they never mentioned it, either to him or anyone else.

Before Zim could respond again with some smart-ass comment, Dib then turned back around to storm away once more to skool, leaving one very confused and speechless Zim staring after him. Reaching skool as late as he figured he'd be, Dib then proceeded to make his way to his first period class. After being yelled at by his Biology teacher for being late, he decided to take a seat as far in the back of the room as he possibly could. He already had some of the best grades in the class, so the teacher wouldn't care where he sat. Taking a seat near one of the windows, he then pulled out a beat up old notebook with various notes and doodles in it. Finding a page that was still fairly blank, he began to draw more pictures of things like aliens, werewolves, and vampires on it, letting his mind wander every couple of minutes as he stared out the window at the falling snow. After about ten minutes of waiting, he looked up at the clock, wondering whether Zim was actually coming to class or not. It seemed as though he had been ready to head to skool when he had ran into Dib.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 1. 8D Umm...I don't think I'll be answering reviews for this story unless I'm being asked a direct question by anyone just because answering them tends to slow me down. And given I want to get this story up quickly so I can catch it up to where it originally was before getting deleted, I think it'd be best I keep things short and sweet. So just know that ZPD and I really do appreciate all of you who take the time to read and review. Seriously, it's what kept this story alive and is bringing it out of its hiatus. So yeah. Love you all. Hope you enjoy tonight's updates~


	2. Chapter 2

In the Dark-Chapter 2: Teamwork

Disclaimer- We do not own the cartoon that this fanfiction is written for, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Rating: M for later chapters

Zim: ZimPLUSDib

Dib: Me

Having forgotten already that he was really, REALLY late for school by now, Zim walked slowly through the snow towards the educational establishment, a confused and even slightly sad look plastered on his face. He couldn't stop thinking about the large headed boy as he stared morosely at his feet, the other's words playing on rerun over and over again inside his head. The human never yelled at him like that so he didn't even know how to react to it. All he knew was that it had been a change from the normal witty banter they usually tossed back and forth on a daily basis.

'What's wrong with the stink-boy? He NEVER tells me to leave him alone. He's always tracking me down, taking stupid photos, and yelling things like, "I know what you are, Zim!"' Zim thought, kicking at a bit of snow on the ground.

Stopping in his tracks, Zim then lifted his head a bit, another thought coming to his mind. '...He's not trying to stop me anymore.' he thought, his eyes growing wide as he recalled all the times in the past the human boy had tried to stop him.

Shaking those thoughts out of his head, he then continued walking in the direction of the school. 'UGH! WHY DO I CARE? SO he's not trying to dissect me today! BIG DEAL! Perhaps this is a GOOD thing.' he thought, an evil smirk growing on his face.

'MAYBE...I can even manage to do something REALLY evil. SOMETHING HE WON'T BE ABLE TO STOP UNTIL THE TASTE OF DOOM HAS COME TO THE HUMANS! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!...Hahaha...hahaha...hah...' he thought before waving those thoughts away with a hand. ''Oh, forget evil laugh is so much more fun when I know that Dib is actually out to get me.' he sighed, wanting to know why his Dib wasn't acting like his usual, paranoid self.

Stopping once again, his eyes grew wide at his own thought processes. Had he just referred to the Dib as HIS Dib? Wanting to reach beneath his wig and tug at his antennas for that, he stopped when he remembered just how late he was.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH! THE SCHOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!" he began running through the snow towards the building, having forgotten the ingenious plan he had had planned for that day.

-

Snapping their heads up at the loud "BANG!" that came with Zim's entrance, Dib and the entire rest of the class couldn't help but stare for a few long moments at the panting Irken standing in the doorway. Out of breath, Zim had thrown the classroom door open in his hurry and was currently trying to regain his composure.

Their Biology teacher stopped his lecturing and turned to glare at the disguised alien. "Zim! You're late!" he pointed at the other accusingly.

Bringing up a finger, ready to explain his tardiness, Zim was cut off by the teacher before he could even get a word in.

"I want none of your excuses, Zim! Just take your seat and see me after class. Same goes for you, Dib!" he sent Dib a pointed look before turning back to continue his lecture. Hopefully there would be no more interruptions during his last 15 minutes of class time.

Dib cursed under his breath. He had really hoped the teacher had forgotten about him. Most likely, he'd give them both detention or pile them up with loads of extra homework. Either way, it would just be more crap he'd have to deal with in his life. Watching Zim scramble past the teacher to take a seat near the middle, back of the classroom, Dib then returned back to his doodle, hell-bent on keeping himself distracted until their first class let out.

Taking a seat at one of the tables in the back, Zim sent Dib a slightly suspicious look. He wanted to ask the human why he wasn't acting like himself but thought throwing a note to him would be too risky at this point. So he just sat there, looking back and forth between Dib and the classroom clock. He'd ask after class was over, when he wouldn't be in danger of making their Biology teacher even more angry.

After dragging on for what felt like hours, the class bell finally rang, signaling a ten minute break for students to get a drink, use the bathroom, and get whatever books they needed for their second period classes. As the rest of the students flooded out into the hallway, both Zim and Dib remained behind to receive whatever punishment their Biology teacher had in store for them.

Standing in front of the teacher's desk, they both fidgeted nervously as they waited to hear what they'd have to do this time. As the teacher finished answering some last minute questions, he then turned to face the two boys before him. Taking a seat at his desk and folding his hands neatly in front of him, he breathed out a calming breath before settling his eyes on the two boys. "Before I punish you, would either of you care to tell me why you're always late to my class?" he asked, sending them both an equally stern look.

Shooting a glare at Zim, Dib was the first to speak up. "Well, I wouldn't have been late if it weren't for Zim." he said, balling his hands up into tight fists.

The teacher sighed at that answer. "You use that excuse every week, Dib. It's getting old. And I'm tired of you both interrupting my class. It distracts the other students. But nothing ever seems to work on you two. No matter what I do, it's always the same story with both of you. 'Zim this!' 'Dib that!' I can't take it anymore! Perhaps what you two need is a lesson on teamwork. We'll be beginning a section on sexual reproduction after Winter Break. I'd like you two to work on a 10 page presentation for that...together. You're going to present it in front of the class after the holidays since you don't seem to care that much about my own teaching. I'd like to see how well you do teaching a class of your own. I'll look over your presentation, of course, to make sure all your facts are straight. You can either turn it in before or after Winter Break, but I expect the both of you to work on it. And because it's such a huge section in our biology books, I'm making it worth 50% of your final grade. Now, how does that sound?" he smirked evilly at them.

Time seemed to stand still as all the life just completely drained out of Dib's face. "W..What...? You want us to...NO! We can't! Please! Anything but that!" he pleaded, the room seeming to spin as all the blood rushed back to his face in a deep, red blush. He didn't dare look over at Zim as he kept his eyes glued to the ground.

Their teacher simply shook his head. "You should have thought of that before you came late to my class." he said with finality, standing up from his desk to pack up the rest of his things.

His body shaking all over, Zim just stood there, one of his lower eyelids twitching. Bringing up a hand, he slowly pointed his shaking finger at the teacher. "...You're...You're..mad..." he said before covering his face with two hands. "What the Irk...? HAVE YOU THE BRAIN MAGGOTS? I DON'T EVEN WANT TO DO THIS! And what if I refuse to accept this mission?" he asked, crossing his arms and turning to face away from both the teacher and Dib.

The teacher didn't seem at all phased by Zim's stubbornness. "Well, if one of you refuses to do it, then you both fail and get to take my class all over again next year. You may not care all that much about your grade in this class seeing as how you're already not doing well in it, Zim, but I'm fairly certain Dib is much more concerned about his grades." he shifted his eyes from Zim to Dib.

Eyes snapping wide open at that last part, Dib whipped his head up to stare at his teacher in horrified disbelief. "WHAT? You mean if Zim doesn't help me with this then I fail too? That's not fair!" Dib protested. He just couldn't fail this class! Not only would he be held back and have to take the class again, but his father would surely kill him if he failed a class that fell into the science category. And to make matters worse, he'd be taking the class with his sister. He shuddered at that thought. As much as he loved her, she scared the living hell out of him half the time. He didn't think he could handle it.

The teacher simply shrugged. "Remember, this assignment is about teamwork. Either the both of you work together on this and pass the class, or you fail and join me again next year. It's all up to you now." he said, finishing packing up all his belongings into his bag.

A hesitant moment of silence passed before Dib spoke up again, this time in a much quieter voice. "We'll do it..." he said, not about to let Zim's unwillingness to work with him ruin his grade. Looking back down at the ground, just knowing Zim had to be giving him one of those "You're crazy!" looks, he fell silent in submission to his teacher's punishment.

The teacher just smiled and nodded in response. "Very well, then. The both of you are free to go." he said before heading on out of the classroom himself to head for his next class.

Dib just kept his head bowed, watching his feet as he proceeded to leave the classroom. He couldn't believe he was caught in this situation. But he wouldn't fail this class, even if he had to write up the entire presentation himself.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 2. 8D One more chapter to be posted tonight. =3 Then you'll all have to be patient for future updates. ^^


	3. Chapter 3

In the Dark-Chapter 3: Reproduction?

Disclaimer- We do not own the cartoon that this fanfiction is written for, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Rating: M for later chapters

Zim: ZimPLUSDib

Dib: Me

Blushing profusely at this point, Zim watched Dib leave the classroom with a slightly angry look on his face. "I..." he threw his finger up in the air with his eyes closed, following after Dib. "...hate you." he finally said, pointing at Dib with a slightly annoyed look on his face now. "Now that I'm stuck with your filthy filthiness...Um..." he closed his eyes as hard as he could, as though trying to think of how to phrase his next question. "When and where shall we do it?" he asked, his teeth grit and fists shaking. The alien hated that teacher, but he couldn't help but see this as an opportunity to find out what it was that was bothering Dib at the same time.

Zim still following behind him, Dib stopped at his locker to drop off his books before grabbing the ones he'd need for his next class. Caught a little off guard by the Irken's question, surprised by the fact that Zim was actually offering to help him with this, he then turned back to face the alien, giving him a truly curious look now. "Do you even know anything about...you know...human reproduction...? I mean...Have you done any research on it in all the time you've been here?" he asked, feeling his face warm up considerably at what he was asking the other. The situation was already awkward enough as it was, but this! This was the last thing Dib thought he'd ever be asking his worst enemy!

He vaguely wondered whether Irken's reproduced in a way similar to humans but quickly shook that thought from his head. From what he had learned throughout the years about Irkens, nearly everything was different and "superior" as Zim put it. He highly doubted it would be anything like how a human reproduced.

If anything, he was more concerned in that moment with how they were going to come up with 10 pages of information on this topic. He knew for a fact that he, himself, would just barely be able to come up with enough information to cover 5 pages. But he highly doubted Zim, even if he did know some things about it, would be able to come up with the other half of their project, even with his help. And he didn't want to think about what things would be like if Zim DIDN'T know anything about it. That would mean he'd have to actually teach the Irken this stuff just to pull this assignment off! Ew!

Face paling at the thought, Dib suddenly felt sick to his stomach as he just wished he could go home and hide out in his room. His thoughts taking over, he completely zoned out on the alien in that moment.

Blushing an even darker shade of green, Zim scratched the back of his head at the question. "Well...Ummmm...Uh...Hmmmmm..." he tried to conjure up what he did know of human mating rituals and reproduction. Coming up short though, he merely smiled nervously and shrugged.

Blinking his eyes a few times, coming back into focus just in time to catch the alien's response to his question, Dib's eyes grew wide and his body began to shake as he brought both of his shaking hands up to cover his face. He couldn't believe this was happening to him.

He closed his eyes tight and shook his head in disbelief. "Oh, God...P-Please tell me you're joking." This was too much.

A moment of silence passed, the alien staring blankly at him. Peaking out from between his fingers at the Irken standing in front of him, he then slowly pulled his hands away to give Zim a rather pathetic look before looking away shyly. "O-Okay..." he finally spoke in a silent voice. "Ummm...I-I guess we can meet sometime tomorrow since it's Saturday. J-Just bring your book tomorrow morning. We c-can work on it at my house." he stuttered out. "Oh and, Zim. Do me a favor and read through the human reproduction section tonight. I can explain anything you don't understand later." he said, just knowing his blush had to be ten times worse now than it had been before.

The bell rang, signaling that their second class was about to begin. While the rest of the students left in the hallway hurried to their next classes, Dib, meanwhile, just stood there with his back to his locker, holding his books and shaking his head. As much as he wanted to leave the school grounds, he felt frozen in place.

Hurrying on to their next class himself, Zim shot back a slightly confused look in Dib's direction before calling back to him when he noticed the human wasn't moving away from his locker.

Looking up when the Irken called out to him, his eyes tired, Dib didn't respond at first but just watched until the alien was out of sight. He felt worn out now that Zim had left, all the color draining from his features, leaving him a very sickly, pale color. In fact, he felt sick in that moment.

When the last of the students had left the hallways, he then pushed away from his locker so he could make his way to one of the skool bathrooms. He wasn't quite ready to go to class yet where he'd have to face not only Zim but his teacher as well, but instead, headed in the direction of the boys' bathroom.

Once he had reached the bathroom, he then pushed the door open and dropped his backpack by the door so he could grip one of the sinks tightly. Looking up into the mirror right in front of him, he could see dark circles forming under his eyes. He hadn't been sleeping well the past couple of nights, which wasn't helping his current state at all. Filling the sink up with water, he splashed his face a few times in an attempt to regain at least some of his composure back before he went to his next class.

When he felt he had finally calmed down at least somewhat, he then turned off the water and dried his face with a paper towel. Taking one last deep breath, he picked up his things and headed to class. Upon entering his history class, everybody including Zim looked up. As expected, he got a stern scolding from his history teacher for being late, but he didn't care. He merely sank into his seat and closed his eyes in a tired fashion until class was over.

Staring at Dib throughout the entire class time, Zim once again felt compelled to ask him what was wrong with him. But he felt like he should wait. After all, if he upset the human now, he may not get the chance to learn what this human reproduction assignment was about and why Dib's face went red everytime he said anything about it. Of course, he knew that it had something with that love-thingy the humans in their class were constantly talking about, but he wasn't sure completely what any of that had to do with reproducing humans. All he knew of human love were the lip touchies he'd seen various teens in their school exchange amongst each other. But he knew almost nothing about sex itself except that it was the basis of this reproduction thing their teacher had been telling them about.

Deciding then that he should do a little extra research on it himself, he figured Dib could just explain the things he didn't understand about it later.

The bell rang again, signaling that they only had one more class to go to before lunch time: advanced math class. It was a fairly easy class...for Zim and Dib at least. Dib's strongest subjects had always been in math and science, though he found both boring as hell. The one plus to that class came in the fact that they actually had a nice math teacher for a change. She was one of the few nice teachers the skool had to offer and young. Dib liked her. She always seemed to be smiling and was the only teacher that didn't yell at him, even when he came in late. It was a nice change for him.

Entering her class, this time on time, Dib took his seat near the front of the class. When their teacher turned to greet him, however, she seemed to notice that he looked ill and mentioned him going home to get some rest. But he declined. It wouldn't help at the moment. If anything, it would just make things worse for him.

He didn't want to have to make up more skool work. So he stayed, waiting for class to end so he could go to lunch, not that he felt much like eating at the moment. If anything, he just wanted to sit somewhere quiet for a while to get his thoughts together. They only had two more classes left after lunch: gym and English. If he could just get through those then he'd be home free. Unfortunately, getting through those classes would be easier said than done.

A/N: And there you have it. =3 Future updates will come as I work my way through revising this story. ZPD and I hope you guys enjoy it though. =3 Especially if you read this before and thought my narrative writing sucked back in 2008. XD Hopefully you guys find it much better now. So until next time~


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Meh...Don't really feel like writing out a whole long author's note today. But, I guess I'd best write at least something considering how long I've been away with this story. Hmmm...Well, first let me thank the people who reviewed. I really appreciate that seeing as how it seems I managed to pull in at least a few people who either remember the story or found it back when it was posted on the ZO site. And of course, I send out much love to all our newer readers as well. I don't really have much else to say about this particular chapter save that it's finally revised. Hopefully I won't take as long getting the next chapter out but if I do, you guys can feel free to smack me with a fish or something. Ummm...Yeah...I guess I just don't feel like talking today. Oh well. Maybe tomorrow. I know I have some other announcements I want to make, but I'll make them later. I'm feeling kind of lazy right now. Anyways, hope you guys enjoy this next chapter. =3

In the Dark-Chapter 4: Distractions

Disclaimer- We do not own the cartoon that this fanfiction is written for, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Rating: M for later chapters

Zim: ZimPLUSDib

Dib/Gaz: Me

Tapping his pencil against the top of his school desk impatiently, Dib stared out the window from his seat, waiting for the bell to ring so he could leave already. It was almost lunch time and yet it was still snowing outside, though not nearly as heavily as it had been earlier that morning. He stopped his tapping and looked up at the clock. 5 minutes to go. Leaning back in his seat, he then let his eyes wander, looking for something interesting to stare at other than the snow for the remaining 5 minutes of class.

Nothing else seemed to catch his eye though as being all too interesting until he swept his gaze across the row of students Zim was sitting in. The alien was staring straight at him, though he looked away quickly when Dib noticed him. Sitting up straighter and looking away also to stare back down at his desk top, he wondered how long Zim had been staring at him. Was it possible that Zim had been staring at him this entire time and he just hadn't noticed? He felt his face heat up once again, though this time he had no idea why.

The lunch bell finally rang, though it could hardly be heard above the voices of students cheering for joy. Sighing in a bit of relief as the other students stampeded out of the classroom to try and get a good spot in line at the cafeteria, Dib didn't even bother hurrying as he had never been all that trusting of the slop they served at school after that one incident in the fifth grade that he'd rather forget. Ever since then, he had started bringing his own lunch from home. It was cheaper and less likely to eat his head off. Though today, he wasn't at all hungry for anything.

So picking up his things slowly, he began making his way to the cafeteria. He didn't have to worry about finding a place to sit at least. For as long as he and Gaz had both been going to school together, he had sat with her every day at the same table. Everybody else was too scared to even go anywhere near her, which had its perks at times when he needed to get away from any bullies looking to shove him in a locker during lunch time. Also, it offered him at least a small bit of peace from Zim who otherwise bugged him 24/7 when at school.

Disgusted by the food that was put before him, Zim, meanwhile, sat completely alone, poking at the cafeteria's spaghetti concoction of the day with a fork until he heard it emit a little 'Squee' sound. Feeling a little fearful when the meat ball then stood up and glared at him, he quickly swatted it away and yelled out part of the thoughts he had been thinking about all during his last class.

"I DON'T MAYBE WANT DIB!" Zim screeched before quickly covering his mouth and looking about at the confused children that were staring at him now. Blushing, he tried to think of an excuse for what he had just said. Unfortunately, he had none he could think of that the other school children would believe. So gulping a little, he raised a finger and pointed it at the discarded meatball instead.

"I mean...I hate you, dirty meat-ball." he said, closing his eyes tight and waiting for the children's responses. When the children merely returned back to their eating, acting like nothing had even happened, Zim peeked one of his eyes open, his bottom lip sticking out, then sighed in relief as he sat back and rubbed the sweat from his forehead. Just as he was about to return to 'eating' (or poking, in this case) the thing that was supposed to be spaghetti, he then suddenly sat up straight, as though a dog had just bitten him on the butt. As if just then realizing it, he slowly turned to see whether Dib had heard his outburst or not, a little afraid of what the other's response would be had he actually heard him.

Having jumped when he heard the other scream out his name, Dib almost instantly recognized the voice as belonging to Zim and turned to look over at the table Zim usually sat at during lunch. Their eyes met for a few brief moments, the flustered alien blushing and looking away after receiving a "What the hell?" kind of look from him.

"What was that about?" Dib muttered to himself before turning back around to stare at his still as of yet untouched lunch from home. He was used to Zim yelling out random things, but that was just plain weird, even for Zim. Why was he feeling this way though? Ever since the end of their first class that morning, things between him and Zim had turned awkward. Now he couldn't even so much as look at the alien without a blush coming to his face. And as it seemed, neither could Zim. Perhaps all he needed was some fresh air.

So, after about another 25 minutes or so of sitting with his sister, Dib finally pushed himself up onto his feet to leave, Gaz not even acknowledging his leaving. She was too busy playing one of her handheld game systems to care in that moment where Dib was going, which was fine with him. He wanted the last 20 minutes of lunch to himself to think anyways. So leaving the naturally noisy lunchroom full of students, he then made his way down to now empty hallways and towards one of the school's front exits. He doubted anybody would be outside in this weather. So, pushing one of doors open, he then took a few steps outside, a chilly breeze blowing past him and making him grip his arms and shiver as he walked out farther. White snowflakes clung to his trench coat as he stared up at the sky, a few flakes of snow landing on his face and melting almost the instant they came into contact with his warm skin.

A look of worry coming to his face when he noticed Dib had left the cafeteria, Zim blushed as he didn't feel he knew how to act in front of the human anymore. He wished that someone would just throw a piece of pork at him or something and break him out his current state of mind. Looking up, he then closed his eyes and gave out a sigh, crossing his arms. He had had an ingenious plan that morning but had now forgotten all about it. Something about replacing school desserts with a concoction of his own.

He had thought the plan foolproof that morning, but now that he had completely forgotten about it, all he could think to do was stand up and make his way over to the scary sister of the big-head boy. He cleared his throat before saying anything to Gaz.

"Why is the Dib acting so...Err...UNnormal today? I saw that he was telling you a lot of things during lunch, so I want to know...What is the stink boy's problem? AND DO NOT REFUSE ZIM THIS INFORMATION! I AM ZIMMM! And I can make a lot of horrible...err...THINGS happen to you if you do not answer truthfully!" he threatened, crossing his arms and looking away as he tapped his foot somewhat impatiently.

Glancing up at Zim as soon as he had addressed her, Gaz only allowed him a second of her attention before returning it back to her game. "Why do you care? It's not like he's getting in your way of world conquest or whatever the hell it is you're doing right now. I thought you of all people would be happy he's not being his old, crazy self. Besides, it's none of your business what his problem is. If you want to know so damn badly then ask him yourself. Now go away before I cast you into a nightmare world from which there is no return." she glanced up a second time to glare at him in an intimidating fashion.

She really DIDN'T care what was wrong with Dib, nor did she see any reason for anybody else to care, Zim especially. It wasn't like Zim could do anything to change how Dib acted. His problem lay in the past, and that's where it would stay. After all, the past was the past and it couldn't be changed. Moving on in life was all one could really do after disaster strikes. In a way, Dib had moved on, though a small part of him still clung to the past. THAT was what Dib had to get over, and she knew that unless he did so, he'd never stop acting this way during the holidays.

Stepping back a little, scared but not wanting to show it, Zim then just waved a hand in front of her. "I DON'T CARE ABOUT HIM SO MUCH! Besides...I would rather talk to YOU than to HIM. And you know it must be BORING him not being HIMSELF anymore. It's just not normal. And I can SEE that there is something wrong in that stupid boy's head! I can SMELL it!" he slammed his fist down on the table Gaz was playing at, disrupting her game play momentarily.

Growling out lowly but audibly when Zim refused to leave, Gaz tightened her grip on the game device she was holding and grit her teeth as the Irken was getting on her very last nerve. "Zim, if you don't care then don't ask because you're sure as hell not going to get any answers out of me. As much as I love to see Dib being tormented, this is a personal issue that even I wouldn't step ground on. If you're really so damn curious about it then you'll have to ask Dib about it, not that he'd tell you anything about it. Dib's never been all that open of a person and the chances of you actually getting him to tell you anything are slim to none. If I were you, I'd just drop it already and stop trying to figure it out because I'm not saying any more to you about this. Now, I'll give you one last chance to leave with your arms and legs attached to your body. GO! AWAY! Your voice is almost as annoying as Dib's is." she sent him a death glare. The way things were going, she was going to lose her game if Zim didn't stop distracting her.

A/N: And there you have it. =3 Future updates will come as I work my way through revising this story. ZPD and I hope you guys enjoy it though. =3 Especially if you read this before and thought my narrative writing sucked back in 2008. XD Hopefully you guys find it much better now though. So until next time~


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